Discovering Advent Where I’d Least Expect It (On a Chilly Winter Day)

Whenever I wanted to impress friends visiting me in the seminary in Washington, DC, I’d call my guy at the White House and he’d set us up with a VIP tour. And all my buddies would think that I was a big deal as I whisked them past the Secret Service and into a place where few others got to go. But pride goes before the fall…

On one bitterly cold December morning, I was traveling with a large group to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and everyone was excited as we spilled out of taxis, wondering if we might catch a glimpse of the President. I confidently marched up to the Secret Service agent at the gate, dropped the name of my contact with a hint of self-importance, and waited for him to come out and escort us into the West Wing. But something was wrong.

While we were standing there, group after group walked past us and began their tours. The minutes seemed like hours as I waited for my contact. Then the Secret Service asked us to step aside. Fifteen minutes passed and the group began to shiver as it continued its vigil. Another half-hour passed and I suffered the indignity of seeing an enormous gang of third graders, their noses running and hands sticky, walk right past us and into the White House.

And all the while I’m staring at the gate, waiting for the emergence of my guy, who I was sure would come and make everything all right. He’d take us in, the President would offer us his sincere apologies and a cup of hot chocolate and all would be right with the world. Alas, it never happened.

As I was praying for my friend to arrive, I realized that this was truly an Advent moment. There we were, uncomfortable, frustrated, and anxious. And there was nothing that we could do by our own power to make the situation any better. My friends and I could only watch and wait for the appearance of the one person who would deliver us from what I was sure were the early signs of hypothermia.

During this holy season where we watch for the coming of the Lord and prepare for his birthday at Christmas, it’s important to reflect on our human condition. We all have those times when we’re shivering, worried, and disappointed that our best-laid plans have resulted in failure. And while my freezing friends might disagree with this assessment, those occasions can be blessings in disguise. They are times when we can remember that we’re ultimately not in charge. And we can come to see that we are not as big a deal as we’d like to think. We are in need of a Savior who will appear to bring us in from the cold and save us from whatever difficulties besiege us. We can have confidence that Christ can and will do just that. That’s what Christmas is all about.

St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village 371 Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10014